Saudi Arabian flag carrier Saudia was the world’s most on-time global airline last month, with punctuality increasing worldwide, though flight cancellations rose across multiple regions.
Saudia reported 94.07% of its flights arriving on time, across 16,005 flights in March, per the latest Cirium report. Several Middle Eastern airports, including Saudia’s secondary hub in Riyadh, also excelled at on-time departures.
“While March presented a significant challenge with a 13% increase in global flight cancellations (totaling 46,486 compared to February’s 41,041), the month also revealed a resilient effort towards improved operational efficiency,” said Cirium.
“Airlines and airports managed to boost their on-time performance by up to 14 points, a trend mirrored in the emergence of new regional airline leaders and the entry of Air India, Pegasus, SunExpress, Turkish Airlines, and Wizz Air Malta into the regional rankings.”
Scandinavian Airlines, Aeromexico, and Qatar Airways ranked just below Saudia, respectively reporting 91.92%, 91.47%, and 90.90% of their flights on-time. Saudia, Scandinavian Airlines, and Qatar Airways all increased their rates of on-time arrivals from February.
The most on-time airline in Asia Pacific was Garuda Indonesia, with 85.81% punctual arrivals. Air New Zealand ranked seventh in the region, while Virgin Australia and Jetstar finished eighth and 10th.
Eurocontrol, the European Union’s air traffic control agency, has predicted that delays will increase in the region during the upcoming summer. It projects that the total number of flights in its airspace will be around 5% higher in the 2025 summer months than in summer 2024, a season that saw a 47% increase in flight delays over summer 2023 due to capacity issues.
The three largest airports that were on time last month were all in the Middle East, according to the report. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport was ranked first, with 93.92% of its departures on-time, and Istanbul Airport and Doha Hamad International Airport were in second and third place.
Globally, flight cancellations grew by 13% over the previous month, led largely by Asia Pacific. In that region, flight cancellations rose by nearly 9,000 to reach 24,169.
The Middle East and Africa saw flight cancellations rise by around 1,100 to 2,613. Europe reported a decrease in cancellations of 158, while North America’s cancellations dropped by about 4,000 to 9,554.
Flight cancellations were also high in the first half of 2024 before sinking in July, with China and Canada posting the largest cancellation rates that year.
